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31.12.16

I never thought when I posted my Me and Mine photos all the way back in January, I'd manage to keep up for a whole year. I'm so glad I managed it though, as I've managed to capture just how much our family has grown and changed this year. What a year it's been!

We ended the month on a perfect high note, with a lovely Christmas as a family of four. These photos were taken just before we had our lunch. And they completely capture the dynamic of our little family right now.

Indiana the daddy's girl. Getting sooo big (look at those long legs!) but still not too grown up for snuggles with mummy and daddy. She's full of fire and sass, and looking more like mummy the older she's getting. She comes out with some brilliant one-liners these days too!

Then there's Parker the cheeky one. The second the camera was out he was shouting 'cheeeeese' and giving the biggest toothy grins. He's such a happy little soul - most of the time - and his favourite thing this month is running around giving everyone high fives, cuddles and kisses. Adorable!

The dynamic is set to change in a few days though, with Indiana starting pre-school. I'm going to miss having her all to myself during the week. Parker is really going to miss his little partner in crime too - although I think he's going to love having all the toys for himself.

I've loved looking back over my Me and Mine photos from this year. We've managed to capture some amazing family memories - holidays, birthdays and those just as special little moments in-between. Here's to another year of family photos!

30.12.16

Anyone else have absolutely no idea what day it is? I had no idea it was Friday until I saw someone else's Little Loves post... whoops! I do love this week between Christmas and New Year though. Lots of family time, it's still acceptable to eat all the food and there's always something good on the telly.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Ours was definitely the best yet!

Read

I took a little unplanned blog / social media break over Christmas, so honestly I've not read anything. Unless you count instructions from new toys, and the constant repeats of Peppa's Christmas.

Watched

The best part of Christmas this year as watching my two open their presents. Indiana was so excited that Father Christmas had been, and Parker just wanted to unwrap anything and everything. The house was filled with joyful squeals and wows the whole day - truly magical.

Heard

Parker is picking up words almost daily now, and it still blows my mind how quickly they learn! He knows and can say snow and rain, sings "let it goooo" with Indie and was even telling me when he needed a wee the other day. Madness!

Made

We've 'made' holiday plans for next year! I am soo excited to go away again - the weather turning has made me crave the sun. I'm tempted to book right now, but want to make sure we're getting the best deal first.

Anyone else craving some summer sun?

Wore

It's mostly been about pjs in our house this week. No one needs to see me in mine, so I thought I'd share the littles instead. They got new ones in their Christmas Eve Basket as well as ones from their nanny in their stockings on Boxing Day.

You can honestly never have enough pyjamas!

And Lastly...

I cannot believe this is the last Little Loves post of the year. I'm so glad I started joining in with this linky - it's not only helped me find so many more fab blogs to read, but it's like a little diary of our year week by week.

29.12.16

I've loved joining in with Mummy and Me this year. It's been amazing to have pictures of me and my little ones from every month - even if they're just iPhone selfies or rubbish quality, they're still so special! Especially now I can go through each month and watch us all change and grow.

Of course this month I had to share a festive photo. My two absolutely loved Christmas this year, and it made the month extra special. We spent every day doing something Christmassy - crafts, baking, festive films. You name it, we did it!

It was lovely to get both of them involved this year too. Last year Parker was only 4 months and didn't know what was going on at all! I already cannot wait for next Christmas, and who knows maybe we'll have another little one to complete our family too...

27.12.16

Just like that, Christmas is over for another year.

Did you have a good one?

I think this Christmas was most definitely the best one yet! The excitement from my two was absolutely infectious. Indiana hasn't stopped talking about Father Christmas from the moment December 1st rolled around, and is still asking if he's coming back now.

Christmas Eve was thankfully a Saturday so we got to start the festivities as a family. After going through the Christmas Eve basket, Jack surprised us with breakfast at Bill's. Father Christmas even made an appearance which was a lovely surprise.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for Christmas. Festive films, TV shows, hot chocolates, snuggling and plenty of food. We've made it a tradition to have a huge beige buffet on Christmas Eve - party food, crisps, the good stuff.

We then popped the kid's into their new pyjamas, left out the treats for Santa and snuggled them in bed. Indiana was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement! We hardly got any proper pictures this year as we were just enjoying every moment, so apologies for the rubbish quality pictures.

Despite the excitement, we were actually left waiting for these two to wake up on Christmas morning! After opening stockings in bed, we eventually made it to the tree, to discover that Father Christmas had been.

Even though Parker didn't really understand presents on his birthday, he totally got it and was trying to open any gift he could. He was shouting "oh wow!" every time he opened something which was just the sweetest thing.

After a morning of presents, playing and plenty of treats we had our Christmas lunch as a family of four at home, before the littles crashed out for an afternoon snooze. I love spending Christmas with my own little family, especially now the littles are getting bigger. It's much more relaxed and the guarantee of a nap is a bonus.

We did head over to my parents house (after the Queen's Speech of course!) in the afternoon, for more presents and food. We played family games and my step-dad did his annual treasure hunt - an extra special one this year as Indie was sooo excited to find the treasure.

After a busy Christmas Day, we did it aaalll again on Boxing Day as we had a mini celebration at Jack's parents house. It was honestly the best Christmas yet, and has already got me excited for next year. It really is true what they say about Christmas being so much better with little ones!

23.12.16

Happy Friday and Merry Christmas!

It's going to be a shorter Little Loves this week, as honestly everything we've done has been Christmassy and I don't want to bore you! It's been a good one though, and I am just soooooo excited for Christmas on Sunday!

Read

Does anyone else only ever buy a TV Guide at Christmas? I don't properly use it either - I just flick through checking out what I want to put on record. Nothing great is really on this year though, although my planner is already looking full.

Watched

Heard

Can you guess?

Indie has requested Christmas songs daily, so how could I say no!?

Made

We bought a couple of Gingerbread House kits a few weeks ago, so we finally got around to making them. The plan was to get both kids involved, but Parker was being his usually 'happy' self so he went to bed! Indiana loved getting involved though, and despite a slight disaster with Jack's one we ended up with two cute little houses.

Wore

Indiana is Paw Patrol mad at the moment, so when she got these 'make your own masks' in her magazine this week, she couldn't wait to do them. She was a bit upset that she had to be Chase and not Marshall, but she looked sooo cute regardless!

And Lastly...

I'm actually typing this while snuggled in bed at 9am, all alone! Jack's parents had the littles over night and they won't be home until this afternoon. It was so nice to have an evening to ourselves - even if we spent it collecting our food shop!

22.12.16

Having two close in age means that their likes and interests are extremely similar. So the moment Indiana unwrapped her scooter on her birthday, I knew Parker wanted to have a go. Being only 16 months though, I didn't think he was big enough for one of his own.

Turns out I was wrong!

The new T1 Scooter by smarTrike has been designed for toddlers as young as 15 months - and will last them until they're able to scoot like a pro (maximum 20kg weight limit). This is achieved by having three different stages, designed to gradually give them confidence and skill.

Stage 1 - Sitting mode

This is the stage Parker is currently using. The scooter comes with a height adjustable seat, that allows little ones to sit and scoot. They gain confidence in using their feet to push themselves along, and steer by physically turning the scooter.

Stage 2 - Practicing and gaining confidence

The scooter features a 'T-lock function' which prevents the handlebars from tilting - thus stopping them from turning by mistake when scooting. This will give them the confidence to scoot along without worrying about turning the wrong away! The seat can be taken off at this stage if you think your child is ready.

Stage 3 - Freestyle riding

Turn the T-lock to engage the titling mechanism - this allows your child to learn how to steer now they've mastered scooting! This is a great time to introduce the brake and how to use it.

The Swiss designed scooter is heavier than the Micro Scooter that Indiana has. However this does make it feel more secure and robust, and isn't much of a problem for us as Parker doesn't ever give us chance to carry it!

The handle bars and seat are comfortable for Parker to use, and I love how wide the footplate is (perfect for bulky shoes such as wellies!). The handle is also height adjustable so I know this is a scooter that will have a lot of use of the years.

But what did Parker think?

The first time we took him out for a ride he wasn't really keen. He was poorly so I think he just wasn't feeling it. He cried when we tried to put him on it, and didn't understand how it worked.

Ever since though, it's been a struggle to get him off! He quickly worked out how to get on and off and how to scoot himself along. At first he would ask for her when he crashed, but it wasn't long before he even worked out how to steer himself.

He went uphill, downhill, on paths, on mud - he was a little boy on a scootering mission! And the only time we saw tears, was when I physically had to pull him off of it to go home.

The T1 Scooter is a perfect first scooter for little ones. Easy to put together, even easier for them to work out, and it'll grow as they do. A perfect step from a smarTrike - simply brilliant!

The T1 Scooter currently retails at £69.99 and is available from stores such as Amazon, ELC and Smyths.

We received this scooter for the purpose of this review. However all opinions are honest and my own. This post contains affiliate links.

20.12.16

I'm all about the Christmas activities and traditions this year. This messy-play hating mama even made Christmas cards - something I never thought I'd enjoy! So of course when I saw these mini gingerbread house kits in our local garden centre, I had to pick them up.

They were only mini, so it was lucky we had two. Although this probably actually made it easier. With one little helper down (Parker was miserable so he was in bed), we got to work!

Jack took charge of one house with Indie as his helper, and I did the other. Like a typical man Jack thought instructions were beneath him and went solo. A plan that was all well and good until his house collapsed under too much icing, and bad construction ;)

Indiana loved helping, and by that I mean -

Licking the icing that dripped on the table...

Guarding the sweetie decorations...

Eating said decorations...

Laughing at Jack's broken house...

She tried though, and it was so fun for the three of us to do something like this together. If you watch the vlog you'll just see the joy in her face (and sadness when Jack's house collapses!).

Despite all the eaten sweets and icing, and the little incident with Jack's house, I think the end results were pretty good! Jack managed to rebuild his house, and we all had fun too which I suppose was the point of the activity.

Who knows, maybe next year we'll even try and make our own gingerbread too!

If you're a parent, then I can imagine that CBeebies plays a big roll in your household - with three little ones aged 5 and under, it de...

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